May 2010. Stephanie died peacefully on 19th April after a short stay in hospital. She had been suffering from acute cervical cancer. Fred will continue to run the business to the best of his ability. The web site is slowly getting under control again
as he tries to take over some of Stephanie's responsibilities, and learns some of the mysteries of Dreamweaver.

Kershaw made a wide range of photographic and optical
equipment, including professional cinema projectors, slide/film strip
projectors and binoculars.They also made cameras. In the early years
of the 20th century these were often sold by other companies e.g.
Marion, Ross. In 1947 the Kershaw family lost control of the company
when they sold it to British Optical and Precision Engineers (a subsidiary
of the Rank Organisation).

The post-war Kershaw cameras are nearly all named after
birds.

The Curlew series, announced
in 1948, takes 8 pictures on 120 rollfilm.This is a folding camera
with a simple specification (no flash sync., for example). There were
three models announced, with different shutter/lens combinations.
The Model I has a Kershaw f/6.3 lens in a four-speed shutter, the
Model II has a Kershaw f/4.5 lens in an eight-speed shutter and the
Model III has a Taylor Hoibson f/3.5 lens in a Talykron 9-speed shutter.The
Model II and Model III have double exposure prevention. The Model
III has flash synchronisation. There do not appear to have been many
of these cameras made, they were not widely advertised and by 1950
they seem to have disappeared. The Model I cost £12, the Model
II cost £17 10s. 6d. and the Model III cost £32 14s. 7d.(these
prices exclude purchase tax).In 1950 price reductions were announced
for the Model II (£17 4s. including tax) and Model III (£28
13s. 4d. including tax). The Model I appears to have been discontinued.

The Peregrine series was
also announced in 1948. Like the Curlew, there were three models but
the Peregrine takes 12 pictures on 120 film. Again, each model has
different lens/shutter combinations - the Model I was fitted with
a Kershaw f/4.5 lens in an eight speed shutter (with no flash synchronisation),
the Model II with a Taylor Hobson f/3.5 in a Talykron 9-speed shutter
and the Model III has a Taylor-Hobson f/2.9 lens in a Talykron 9-speed
shutter. The II and III have flash synchronisation and all three models
have double exposure interlock. The I and II have folding optical
finders. The Peregrine III has a coupled rangefinder with a common
viewfinder/rangefinder window. The Peregrine, like the Curlew, was
only available for a short time and not many cameras seem to have
been made. The Model I cost £17 15s. 3d., the Model II cost
£30 17s. 11d. and the Model III was £48 18s. 3d.(these
prices exclude purchase tax). In 1950 a price reduction was announced
for the Model II (£28 13s. 4d. including tax) The Model I appears
to have been discontinued and the Model II price remained unchanged.

The Eight-20 Penguin is a
much simpler and cheaper camera than the Peregrine and Curlew cameras.
It was introduced in about 1951 and takes 8 pictures on 120 rollfilm.

The Eight-20 King Penguin was
also introduced in about 1951. It takes 8 pictures on 120 rollfilm
and has a flash-synchronised shutter with B and I settings. In 1951
it cost £5 8s. 2d., including purchase tax. (c. £5.41).

The Kershaw 110 is a simple folding
camera with an unidentified lens (two apertures - f/11 and f16) in
a simple single-speed shutter. It was introduced in about 1954. It
takes 12 pictures on 120 rollfilm. In 1955 it cost £5 19s. 10d.
including purchase tax.

The Kershaw 450 is similar to
the 110 but with a better lens (Etar f/4.5) in a Velio 5-speed shutter.
It was introduced in about 1956, when it cost £12 19s. 4d.

The Kershaw 630 dates from the
mid-1950s. It is a folding camera which takes 12 pictures on 120 rollfilm.
It has a Kershaw Otar 80 mm. f/6.3 focusing lens and a three-speed
shutter with flash synchronisation. In 1955 it cost £9 18s.
9d. including purchase tax.

The Kershaw Raven is a folding
camera with a bakelite body. It has a Kershaw f/4.5 4 inch lens.